Well what a start to the 2013 league season.
As usual there is the never ending circle of problems that seem to arise from the arrival of a new season in league and already some great matches.
It would be great for one season to start without the usual off field dramas but as it stands our players and the upper nrl hierarchy have not failed to deliver once again.
Firstly there is the issue of the drug scandal that is threatening to derail the perpetual nrl train off its tracks. What a mess. My thoughts on this subject are one of amazement and anger. We have ASADA promising to weed out drug cheats and the people that have assisted them along the way, the NRL commission standing on the side lines scratching their heads, and politicians as far as the eye can see lining up for camera opportunities to throw their two cents in.
The sharks board have made an absolute meal of the whole situation and have sacked some great front line people who vehemently deny any involvement in the whole scandal and without anyone coming forward with the promise of protection or severe penalties if they don't, it seems ASADA are looking like a pack of witch hunters.
Don't get me wrong i agree that if there are drug cheats in the game then by all means name them, ban them for a significant amount of time and lets all move on. The fact that ASADA have come out and said we have a number of interested parties at more than one club but hey this could take months to sort out, is both detrimental to the game to keep and attract sponsors and unfair to fans of the game.
What I find funny is the disappearance of John Grant during this whole mess. It seemed that before this mess he was in every promotional opportunity that he could, to the point where alot of people were asking is this guy going to actual let someone else run the game, the CEO maybe? Which brings me to my second point point regarding player behaviour.
To start the season we have the Ben Barba issue. I think the Bulldogs and Ben have handled the situation quite well. Firstly they have kept it out of the public eye, and there has been a great deal of speculation over what exactly Ben did. But at the end of the day they stated its a private issue, nothing he did was illegal,he asked for help and the Bulldogs stood him down to deal with his issues.
Better now than six years down the track when he has blown all his cash and is caught in an awkward public situation, there has been plenty of those moments to mention, Ala Sonny Bill engaging in a restroom rendezvous.
Now we have the issue of Josh Dugan and his antics with Blake Ferguson on the roof of a Canberra house, giving the bird, drinking pineapple cruisers. This one I have trouble understanding.
Josh surely must realise that the game wholly supports the responsible consumption of Wild Turkey and cruisers are not in the best interests of the game in line with their target market.
The issue here however is his complete lack of respect for his team mates and club. The Raiders have come out and stated that Josh's indiscretions were long and numerous and that there was a great deal of pressure from his team mates on the club to terminate his contract.
When will players learn that when you are drinking or socialising with friends that they should maybe think twice before uploading any pictures or text to Twitter or other social media?
I have met Josh a couple of times once at one of my sons Rugby League matches, where I found him to be pleasant and willing to engage with the younger kids to promote the sport and the Raiders. Mind you that particular time that I encountered Josh, he and Blake were stood down for the week for a drinking session the previous week.
I hope that any club that takes him has the management in place to get him on the straight and narrow. However there is no way i would be paying anywhere near the $650,000 per season he was commanding at the Raiders.
I suppose what doesn't help the game is the fact we are now being bombarded by constant alcohol and gambling advertisements and on the other hand trying to communicate the need for our young athletes to deny all that the game promotes so unashamedly.
I don't know about anyone else but I sure am sick of seeing Tom Waterhouse plastered across my T.V. every two minutes. Tom if you knew what punters wanted you wouldn't be annoying us at half time while were getting the teams analysis.
As far as the actual game is concerned the competition looks juicy again, Melbourne are of course as dominant as usual with the Eagles, Bulldogs, Cowboys, and Souths looking to have the goods this year.
The new rule changes are for me a bit ordinary. I agree with the stricter control of the ruck, but they still haven't sorted out the obstruction rule. The Bulldogs, Storm game last night was testament to that. Cooper Cronks try in the second half that was disallowed was nothing short of a joke. The dummy runner was no where near the play the ball and if the defending player was not touched had zero chance of stopping a try.
I think the NRL got the interpretation right a few years back when they said that there would be a penalty only if the ball runner stepped into the space that a dummy runner had made by interfering with a defending player. It was at least an easier rule for me to grasp, and I think fair for both teams.
So tell us your thoughts.
Is our commission doing a great job?
Are the new on field rules to your liking?
And is Tom Waterhouse your favourite half time analyst?
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